and IRS. The same day two officials were seen exiting Sandoval's house to get hand trucks to take inside. Sandoval at first refused to comment on the situation. Federal agents involved in the raid were seeking a vast array of information involving construction, transportation and power company officials, lobbyists, gambling interests, a red-light camera company, and at least three suburban mayors. Agents also came to both his Cicero office and home. The initial Sandoval raid was quickly followed by federal law enforcement actions in McCook, Lyons, and Summit — all towns in the senator's district. On November 28, 2019, in the wake of the ongoing probe, Sandoval announced he would resign from the Illinois State Senate effective January 1, 2020 and he had already resigned as chair of the State Senate's Transportation Committee in advance of his complete departure from the legislative body. On January 28, 2020, Sandoval agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of bribery and filing a false tax return, both of which he had been charged with earlier in the week. He confirmed that he had taken more than $250,000 in bribes, dating back to at least 2016. At the heart of the investigation was approximately $70,000 in government-supplied cash Sandoval took from a representative of red-light camera company SafeSpeed, LLC. This company was working with authorities. Sandoval agreed to act as the company's "protector" in the state senate in exchange for this cash. SafeSpeed received a portion of the money collected from traffic tickets, and Sandoval began receiving a monthly bribe after complaining that he was not receiving kickbacks on SafeSpeed's ticket revenue. He also agreed that he had accepted bribery from other people in exchange for using his Senate position, involving at least 5 other participants and with Sandoval directing at least 2 other people. Sandoval also agreed that he had falsified federal and Illinois tax returns, including claiming 2017 income of $125,905 when his income was at least $259,255, and also underreporting his income for 2012 through 2016. As part of his plea agreement, Sandoval agreed to cooperate with federal investigations. At his plea hearing, he was released on $10,000 bond and banned from leaving the state, and was scheduled for sentencing in July. Personal life and death Sandoval and his wife Marina had three children. He died from COVID-19 at Loyola University Medical Center on December 5, 2020, aged 56, during the